Countless couples have rediscovered their spark while soaking in either the spa bubbles or their fireplace-warmed surroundings.

    For 30 years they’ve looked deep into each other’s eyes, maybe over a glass of wine or champagne, and rediscovered romance. How many marriages have been salvaged through the years at Sleepy Forest Resorts? How many more have been reinvigorated? The better question might be, how many arrows can Cupid fire?

    Plenty, that’s for sure, at this quaint lodge that’s away from it all yet close to everything. Turns out, mother did indeed know best when Bob and Kathy Pool, along with Bob’s father Marvin, purchased for $30.000 a little six-room dump called South Pines Cottages in January 1980.

    “Mom (Nancy Pool) said, `Make this one the honeymoon cottage,’ ” Bob Pool recalled of one unit that was maybe a little less rundown than the others. “She was teaching Bible studies with young couples and said that once they got married, the romance was gone. What they needed was to go away and find it.”

    It took Bob five years to act on mom’s advice, but in December 1985 he debuted his first room with jacuzzi tub in front of the fireplace. Twenty five years later, Sleepy Forest Cottages has 11 spa cabins with another five at Cathy’s Country Cottages, and Pool is pretty much acknowledged as Big Bear’s pioneer when it comes to spa rooms.

    “We probably put in or helped put in another 30 at other lodges,” he said. “Some thought the jacuzzi should be in the bathroom, not in front of the fireplace. But I don’t want to look at the toilet while I’m in the spa and I don’t think others do.”

    It’s all part of Pool’s dream to create the “Poconos of the West” in Big Bear, and as Sleepy Forest celebrates its 30 year anniversary, it’s obvious he’s succeeded. Virtually every fine lodge in Big Bear has at least one or two spa cabins and some, like Castlewood Cottages (spa rooms Pool also had a hand in) even sport themes.

    “By the end of the 1980’s, the Poconos didn’t have anything over us, even with their heart-shaped tubs and beds,” he said. “And as everyone started putting in spa rooms, I went back and started redoing bathrooms, adding double show heads and nice tile, marble or slate.” And you know what? That honeymoon suite mom requested now has romantic dual shower heads and is handicap accessible!

    A far cry to be sure from when the Pools arrived in Big Bear, spending their first night in their newly-purchased motel on Jan. 22, 1980. It snowed heavily that day and the utilities weren’t yet on, so they stored all their gear in the laundry room and selected the most livable cabin they now owned. The options weren’t great—first time Bob walked into cabin 4, the floor collapsed—and they ended up sleeping on undesirable mattresses with no sheets, just a couple wool blankets they brought along.

    It took a week for cabin 2 to be spruced up enough for rent, for the kingly sum of $28. Kathy, pregnant with first son Matt, and Nancy made new curtains and the Pools left a pot of stew for their young guests on the stove. It was the beginning of a family operation that continues to this day: during the recent holiday season Pool’s entire family including sons and grandchildren worked the front desk, cleaned rooms and greeted guests just like the old days.

    Soon other rooms were opened, including cabin 1 with fresh paint and a major electrical, plumbing and drywall remodel for cabin 3. When Matt was born in August, Kathy was still cleaning cabins and Bob was hanging drywall, so the Pools left a note for late-arriving guests: “I’m going to have my baby today, and your key is under the door mat.” Those guests still stay at Sleepy Forest each Oktoberfest.

    As the guests have kept coming, so have the stories. Like the guys at an early Big Bear Oktoberfest who could drink a beer with no hands...while standing on their heads! Then there was the time they hosted an ex-Austrian bodybuilder who became Mr. Universe, “Terminator” and eventually Governor of California.

    “That was back in the 80’s,” Pool said of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit with wife Maria. “They drove all over town wanting a quiet place and settled on us. They brought along their dog Conan.”

    That was the year the Pools quite by accident realized that their phone number spelled out something special. “We heard an ad for those romantic 976 numbers they used to have and we heard one that spelled 6-SHHH. We jumped up and said `That’s our number!” 866-SHHH has been a fixture ever since.

    Pool has been in Big Bear so long, he actually visited Crystal Ridge, now Alpine Slide, back when it was a T-bar served ski hill. He helped introduce the first ski and lodging packages and began Big Bear’s first computerized lodging reservation network, Big Bear Central.

    He’s also been aggressive on the internet and often posts deals for the nicest rooms around that are priced less than at the chain motel. For a 400 sq. ft. room with digital TV, feather bed, double shower and new couches!

    Call Sleepy Forest Resorts at (909) 866-SHHH or (800) 544-7454.